Recruiting timeline

[absdad]

I've read through this forum quite a bit lately, but don't recall seeing anything in regards to timeline. I realize that it somewhat "depends". But what are the general times that a player should begin to a phase? Such as emails, phone calls, tournament invites, etc. Is it more by grade, than age? I realize that a powerhouse D1 is going to be different from a small D2 or D3. Is 13 or 14 way too early to start anything? DD will be 14 in April, and has already attended a few college camps, and is on a good nationally known team. Is everything a waste until their first day of freshman year, or should some groundwork be laid out prior? Don't want to err on the side of too late. Thanks.

[SOFTBALLS]

From my experience this year traveling to all the major exposure tournaments is never to late. Most of the Major D1 school are already looking for only 14s. Not time to panic cause their are very good schools still recruiting 12s. It all depends on the school you want to attend. I told my daughter to pick up the phone and call the coaches to see what they are looking for, theirs no point to flooding a coaches email if they arent even looking for a pitcher, middle or outfielder.

[3'sDad]

There are several frequent contributors on the Heybucket who have DD's either in or just completing the recruiting process.....maybe one of them has some spare time to compile a timeline that can be a "sticky topic".

[90066DAD]

From my experience this year traveling to all the major exposure tournaments is never to late. Most of the Major D1 school are already looking for only 14s. Not time to panic cause their are very good schools still recruiting 12s. It all depends on the school you want to attend. I told my daughter to pick up the phone and call the coaches to see what they are looking for, theirs no point to flooding a coaches email if they arent even looking for a pitcher, middle or outfielder.

You're talking about graduation years, but it appears to me the original post was referring to actual age when he said "13 or 14".

[AM Softball]

From my experience this year traveling to all the major exposure tournaments is never to late. Most of the Major D1 school are already looking for only 14s. Not time to panic cause their are very good schools still recruiting 12s. It all depends on the school you want to attend. I told my daughter to pick up the phone and call the coaches to see what they are looking for, theirs no point to flooding a coaches email if they arent even looking for a pitcher, middle or outfielder.

I agree with everything except the top schools are only looking at 2014s. I talked to a lot of top coaches that were looking for a few 2013s and 2014s and you're right, even a good Pac-10 school was looking for a 2012 this year so there are a few of those spots too.

[absdad]

From my experience this year traveling to all the major exposure tournaments is never to late. Most of the Major D1 school are already looking for only 14s. Not time to panic cause their are very good schools still recruiting 12s. It all depends on the school you want to attend. I told my daughter to pick up the phone and call the coaches to see what they are looking for, theirs no point to flooding a coaches email if they arent even looking for a pitcher, middle or outfielder.

You're talking about graduation years, but it appears to me the original post was referring to actual age when he said "13 or 14".

That is correct, I was talking about age.

[90066DAD]

I've read through this forum quite a bit lately, but don't recall seeing anything in regards to timeline. I realize that it somewhat "depends". But what are the general times that a player should begin to a phase? Such as emails, phone calls, tournament invites, etc. Is it more by grade, than age? I realize that a powerhouse D1 is going to be different from a small D2 or D3. Is 13 or 14 way too early to start anything? DD will be 14 in April, and has already attended a few college camps, and is on a good nationally known team. Is everything a waste until their first day of freshman year, or should some groundwork be laid out prior? Don't want to err on the side of too late. Thanks.

Greetings.

Since your DD turned 14 in April, I'm guessing she's heading into her freshman year in HS this fall.

If she is on a top travel team, you're right on schedule in terms of her development as a player.

In terms of recruiting, I would make sure you have completed all those prospective student-athletes (PSA) questionnaires that are on the sports website for each school that you may be interested in. That will get her onto the database and that's where everything starts. You can start sending out your game schedules to selected college coaches prior to showcase tournaments that your team may be playing in this fall and the coming spring.

At some point in the next 12 months you and your DD should decide (and it’s a decision that can be changed in most cases prior to the end of her junior year) what level of school should be targeted. I would split the schools into top D-I (e.g., Pac-12, SEC, Big 12, ACC, Big 10), mid-level D-I (e.g., Big East, WAC, Atlantic 10, Big West), other D-Is, Ivy League, D-II, and D-III. You can show interest in and pursue schools in two or more of the above categories right up to the end. Generally, the stronger the softball program, the earlier the recruiting is done. The top D-I softball schools verbal their recruits during the sophomore year. Many strong D-I schools get verbal commitments between the sophomore and junior years. Most D-I schools verbal their recruits during the junior year, although some do so in the summer after the junior year. Ivy Leagues will hand out offers in the late summer after the junior year. D-IIIs only start looking at juniors and decide on recruits in the fall of their senior years. D-IIs fall all over the time schedule depending on the program.

Her playing ability and grades/test scores will determine which of these categories she would NOT be recruited for. For the categories that she could be recruited for, you have to decide whether to go for the most money possible, get into the best academic school possible, or something in between. This becomes very much a personal choice. Sometimes geographic or historical preferences become major factors.

Keep in mind that smaller private schools may have more grant money available (if you can show a financial need) than the athletic money that can be offered by a strong softball school.

Deciding on the level of school at your current point will help you select the camps that you want to attend. There is only so much time, and for most folks only so much money, to devote to camps. In these economic times, many schools put more emphasis on camps in their recruiting process because their travel budgets have been slashed.

I tried to get coaches to take note that my DD is very interested in their school, but also made sure we stopped well short of being a pest. We started calling and e-mailing during the summer prior to her sophomore year. The process is an emotional roller coaster. Unless your kid is a superstar stud player, you’ll always feel like it will take some element of luck to get the school or schools that she wants. The reputation of your future 18Gold team, and the relationship that those coaches have with various schools or conferences, will become significant factors as the process heads into the later stages. Don’t settle for anything less than a starting position by the summer after the sophomore year unless you’re on an extremely elite 18G team. I cannot overstate the importance of being an impact player on your 18G team.

I wish you and your DD the best.

90066DAD

[hit4power]

I tried to get coaches to take note that my DD is very interested in their school, but also made sure we stopped well short of being a pest. We started calling and e-mailing during the summer prior to her sophomore year. The process is an emotional roller coaster. Unless your kid is a superstar stud player, you’ll always feel like it will take some element of luck to get the school or schools that she wants. The reputation of your future 18Gold team, and the relationship that those coaches have with various schools or conferences, will become significant factors as the process heads into the later stages. Don’t settle for anything less than a starting position by the summer after the sophomore year unless you’re on an extremely elite 18G team. I cannot overstate the importance of being an impact player on your 18G team.

What an excellent post...

A couple of comments for whatever they are worth

1) However hard it is for your DD - have her make phone calls to follow up behind her emails. Coaches get tons of email, I think the effort to make the phone calls is noted by coaches. If the coach does not answer, send another email and ask for a time that's good to call. Many coaches have voice mail messages that say they don't check voice mail, so leaving a message is often not worth the effort. As 900066DAD said, don't be a pest, but be persistent.
2) It is a rollercoaster emotionally and for most kids it is very stressful – some team mates get offers early and others do not. Some know exactly where they want to go and for others it is difficult to narrow the list of schools. Most of us never went through anything like this when we were kids and it can be hard to understand all the emotion, fear, and frustration that can accompany this process. Don’t inadvertently make this a life and death struggle for your kid.
3) I’m torn about the comment from 90066DAD about being an impact player on your 18G team. Mine played for a mediocre 18G team starting the fall of her soph year. I don’t know if I’d say she was an impact player, but she was a starter and got a lot of playing time. The problem was that no one came to watch. I learned the hard way that while the coach was an excellent coach, his contacts among college coaches were limited to some smaller local schools and since those were not schools that DD was interested in, it was a wasted year. Last fall, we moved to a much more well known organization and a higher level team. DD is definitely not an impact player on that team, but a lot of coaches (and the “right” coaches) come to watch. Ideally, you’d want to be an impact player on a well known team. But if you have to choose between playing for a well known and respected organization or being the stud on a less well known team, I’m not sure which is better.

[90066DAD]

3) I’m torn about the comment from 90066DAD about being an impact player on your 18G team. Mine played for a mediocre 18G team starting the fall of her soph year. I don’t know if I’d say she was an impact player, but she was a starter and got a lot of playing time. The problem was that no one came to watch. I learned the hard way that while the coach was an excellent coach, his contacts among college coaches were limited to some smaller local schools and since those were not schools that DD was interested in, it was a wasted year. Last fall, we moved to a much more well known organization and a higher level team. DD is definitely not an impact player on that team, but a lot of coaches (and the “right” coaches) come to watch. Ideally, you’d want to be an impact player on a well known team. But if you have to choose between playing for a well known and respected organization or being the stud on a less well known team, I’m not sure which is better.

My comment on that issue may have overemphasized the impact player aspect. After reading it again I should have said something like "get on the best possible team where DD gets ample playing time, unless it's a roster spot on an extremely elite 18G team." Thank you for pointing that out.

[anonlooker]

Agent double-oh 66, excellent post.